Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #382, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! If you feel like the AI wave is moving faster than you can keep up with, you aren't alone. The gap between "playing with a chatbot" and "building reliable AI systems" feels wider than ever, and that feeling is only increasing with every new AI announcement. For the past couple of months, I’ve been working on a new course to help address this challenge. Next Monday, I’m opening...
20 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #381, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! Since last week, the weather in the Mid-Atlantic region has been even more volatile than that mission critical spreadsheet your non-technical boss "fixed" recently. We had a day over 80F, followed by a wild 50F drop to temps in the 30's and snow squalls. And later today, we're forecast to have a severe thunderstorm and possible tornadoes. It's threatening enough that schools in...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Brought to you by: Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #380, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! I read something online last week (source) that really resonated with me: Joy is a competitive superpower The author gave the example of the US figure skater Alysa Liu, who rocked a huge smile on her way to a gold medal at the recent Winter Olympics. As someone who has a tendency to take things too seriously, this was a good reminder for me to smile more and...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Brought to you by: Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #379, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! Anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed with everything AI these days? Every day, panicked people on Twitter are prophesying the end of white-collar jobs. And Block recently announced they are reducing their headcount by 40% (4,000 people) because of AI, so maybe they have a point. But on a visit to a new dentist last month, I still had to fill out a paper form...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #378, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! Last week, I shared an essay about how we’re at a threshold in 2026 where writing complex formulas from scratch doesn't make sense anymore (and others have come to similar conclusions). It’s simply no longer economically viable to spend 45 minutes wrestling with syntax when Gemini can generate the same result in seconds. Today, we’re putting that theory to the test with one of the...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Brought to you by: Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #377, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! Coming to your inbox on a Tuesday this week, because it was a public holiday here in the US yesterday. Today I'm pondering whether it makes sense to write your own formulas anymore. AI tools are getting so good at writing formula syntax (and Apps Script code) that it doesn't make sense (economically at least) to spend hours crafting complex formulas yourself, if...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Brought to you by: Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #376, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! I've been using Gemini and Gemini Canvas a lot recently for various projects. It's mind-blowing how quick it is at generating formulas and scripts that work. We're definitely at the threshold (or maybe already past it 🤔) where it doesn't make sense to write your own complex formulas or code from scratch (for specific problems with limited scope). Having said...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Brought to you by: Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #375, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! We're still in an ice box on the east coast of the US with the snow set to hang around for a while yet. It's beautiful but I am looking forward to the ice melting so it's easier to get around. The Potomac river is covered with ice Today's newsletter is not directly related to Google Sheets. Instead, I'm sharing the sources I use to stay informed of AI...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Brought to you by: Hi Reader, Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #374, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form! Coming to you from the cold and snowy East Coast of the US. We didn't quite get the 20 inches of snow forecast earlier in the week, but we did end up getting around 8 - 10 inches of very dry, powdery snow. And with the temps rarely getting above 20 F (-7 C) this week, it's going to stick around for a while yet. School is closed so you'll probably find me and my...
3 months ago • 2 min read